17 Great Book Recommendations in Honor of National Book Lovers’ Day

November 3rd is National Book Lovers’ Day, and at 10th Magnitude, we’re always in the mood for a great read. We asked some of our team members which books they’d recommend, and they built a bold and inspiring list that we’re excited to share with you.

Below is a big list of 17 books, divided into technical and non-technical sections. In this list you’ll find everything from classic development guides to fresh perspectives from brilliant tech innovators.

A thought-provoking book subtitled, “How Google Runs Production Systems.” It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the work of Google’s Site Reliability Team, which examines this question:Why do we spend so much time on development when most of a software system’s lifespan is during use?

This book is the definitive work on Continuous Integration. It covers the concepts and practices that enable engineers to create cohesive, working software many times a day. Take a proactive approach to integrations making them a positive and ongoing process, not a frustrating one-time event.

This book takes a holistic approach to systems architecture and administration. By following a fictional company as it builds a complete architecture from start to finish, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the step-by-step process and its many challenges, like testing, implementing, monitoring, scaling up, and preserving system integrity for the long term.

This book is a blend of technical and non-technical ideas. Written in a fast-paced, fun-to-read style, it explores how to identify past and present trends that will become the most powerful concepts of the future.

Non-Technical Books

The Goal

A team member commented how “The Goalchanged my life as a software architect.” It follows a plant manager who has 90 days to save his company from closure. The company survived by shaking up conventional thinking and refusing to accept traditional constraints that cause businesses to fail.

The Phoenix Project

If you like The Goal, read this book on a similar topic. It advances the idea that tech work actually has a lot in common with manufacturing plants, and that both suffer from common diseases: restricted workflows, budget constraints, tight schedules, and sometimes stubbornly inside-the-box thinking.

Five Dysfunctions of a Team

For anyone who has managed a chaotic team, and/or or strives to manage a successful one. It’s an in-depth look at why great teams – even those at Fortune 500 companies – sometimes struggle. Better yet, this book explains how to avoid 5 common mistakes and inspire your teams to succeed.

The Management of Time

This classic book about time management proposes that working hard – or working longer hours – simply isn’t the key to success. Instead, you should be creating a robust time management portfolio that correctly values and prioritizes your goals.

Getting to Yes

The subtitle of this book says a lot about it:Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. It explores the topic of negotiation as a form of delicate conflict resolution, where you can come to an agreement without getting angry, giving up, or hurting the long-term relationship.

The Mythical Man-Month

A timeless book about managing complex projects. Its central concept is that the integrity of large programming projects is damaged by a division of labor in a way small projects aren’t. Although this book was written more than 20 years ago, the latest edition provides the author’s updates and a fresh look at an intriguing topic.

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